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President Donald Trump confirmed this week during an interview with boxer Jake Paul that he will attend the UFC’s historic event in Washington, D.C., scheduled for the president’s 80th birthday as part of the America 250 celebration.
Trump, a longtime supporter of the UFC, spoke about the highly anticipated event that will take place on the South Lawn of the White House on June 14 and will feature two championship fights.
President-elect Donald Trump attends the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on November 16, 2024. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“I will,” Trump responded when Paul asked if he would be at the event, dubbed UFC Freedom 250. “It’s going to be amazing at the White House. And Dana [White] is a great guy. He’s a big fan of yours, you know. Dana is a good guy. The best. I mean, there’s no one like him.”
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Trump also spoke about the card, which was released days earlier and features Ilia Topuria taking on Justin Gaethje for the UFC lightweight world championship and Alex Pereira taking on Ciryl Gane for the UFC interim heavyweight championship.
“[White] had the idea of staging it right in front of the front door of the White House. We will be right outside the front door of the White House. And he has a great card. I don’t even know if it’s filled, but I just saw it and it looks like these are all going to be the best. They all want to fight for the White House. So it will be in honor of the 250th anniversary. It’ll be great.”
People wave a flag as President Donald Trump arrives at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The map also includes Sean O’Malley takes on Aiemann Zahabi, Michael Chandler takes on Mauricio Ruffy, Kyle Daukaus takes on Bo Nickal and Steve Garcia takes on Diego Lopes.
DANA WHITE REJECTS NOTION UFC WHITE HOUSE EVENT WILL BE ‘TOO POLITICAL’: ‘IT’S A HISTORY EVENT’
White said Thursday that the UFC plans to offer 85,000 free tickets to the Ellipse outdoor viewing area in Washington, DC. Tickets for the South Lawn will not be sold, but will be offered to members of the military. ESPN reported.
Despite the location and Trump’s presence, White rejected the idea that the event would be “too political.”
“I mean, I don’t know how it could be too political other than in the White House,” he said in January in an interview with Bloomberg. “Look, if you look at history, I think [former President] George Bush was a big baseball fan, [former President Barack] Obama was an NBA fan and Trump is a UFC fan. I don’t think any of these fans have become too political of a sport.”
UFC President Dana White and former United States President Donald Trump attend the UFC 296 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 16, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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The UFC event is just one of several events Trump has planned for America’s 250th birthday celebration. Last month it was announced that an IndyCar race would take place in August and fans could come watch it for free.
